Managerial Behaviors and Job Performance: A Successful Manager in Los Angeles May Not Succeed in Hong Kong

Few studies have attempted to examine how American managers actually manage while on assignment in foreign countries or the effectiveness of these managerial behaviors. This study compared the self-reported managerial behaviors of American expatriate managers in Hong Kong to a sample of American managers in the U.S. and Hong Kong Chinese managers in Hong Kong. The results from the study indicated that American expatriate managers in Hong Kong exhibit very similar managerial behaviors to the sample of managers in the U.S. However, while these managerial behaviors were positively related to job performance for the managers in the U.S., they were not related to job performance for the expatriates in Hong Kong, nor were these managerial behaviors related to job performance for Hong Kong Chinese managers in Hong Kong.© 1991 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1991) 22, 99–113